St George

Opening Gifts

Where's the present?

Dinner with the gang at the Condo

 First stop was our son's home.  Maddux, Aidan, Avery and Haper got gifts from Grandpa & Grandma. Where is Harper?

Can I sleep with you, Grandma?

A Movie in the Backyard.

Our Little Men Maddux & Aidan

 The big event in St. George, Utah was our oldest grandson's baptism.  It was truly a milestone day with lots of family on both sides there.  All the Layman aunts were there.  Nellie, Alex, Rachel and DeAnna.  Daryl and Brad, Rachel and DeAnna's husbands respectively.  Cousins, Avery, Adddison and Haper.  Grandpa and Grandma are so pleased that Maddux made the decision to be baptized and that we were all there to share this special day.

(Is there a reason your eyes are closed, Grandma?)

Our Big Trip -- Day One

Holiday Inn Ontario Oregon

Snowy Idaho

Heading to Utah

                       It snowed on us from Twin Falls Idaho to
                       Tremonton Utah.  We stopped in Centerville
                       Utah to see friends and it started snowing
                       again.  Thanksgiving Point past the point of
                       the mountain was a driving, blinding snow
                       storm.  Glad to see sun all the way to St.
                       George.

Moving Day

                 We decided to rent out our home while we are in
                 Chile.  Moving out of the house and into Rachel
                                                                       Daryl's home was a huge event.  Did I mention
                                                                       stressful.  Never thought it would be so hard.
                 The three pictures to the left are our home.  Above
                 is the new home Rachel and Daryl have graciously
                 let us move into and store our belonging while we
                 are in Chile.

Tutoring

 So, part of getting ready for our mission is learning the Spanish language.  The MTC assigned a tutor, Leticia Murillo.  She is from Mexico City and is majoring in translation at BYU.  Usually we have our lession through Skype.

March 2, 2012 we were in Utah so decided to go into the MTC for our lession in Spanish.  We got to meet Leticia and go into a classroom.  This one had couches.  I have never been in a classroom like that.  We learned about reflexive verbs.  Don't worry if you don't know what that means.  Spanish has many verb tenses and ways to say things that are very differnt from English.

Shopping is always an important part of getting ready for the mission.  Guess what?  This trip was all about Van.  He was the guy who has worn out his "dress-up" clothes working in them and traveling in them a lot.  So we made a trip to of all places ,to the Church bookstore in Milton, Washington.  Guess what they have there:  CTR Clothing.  We love being able to find reasonably priced suits, socks and ties for the mission.

Thanks to our good friend, Kim, we were able to get Van what he needed.  She knew exactly which suits to show him.  He looks like a missionary now.  Of course this couldn't be done without measuring and lots of visiting.

What?  Did Millie go shopping?  Well, of course but I really didn't need as many things as Van.  I still have a whole wardrobe from working for the Church Educational System.  Add a blazer to the existing skirts and blouses and I look like a missionary too.  And yes, there are no pictures to post.

Good-bye furniture

 The first thing we decided to get rid of was the dining room table, chairs, and china closet.  A beautiful day in October dawned with our son-in-law, Paul, coming to get the above and give them a new home.  Our daughter, Nellie, has wanted the above items since high school.  Now the furniture resides in the home of Nellie and Paul.  I made her day letting her taking the dining room furniture.  She also got a bonus--the china.  She will take good care of this part of my life.  Oh, by the way,  The furniture looks so beautiful in their home.

Part of preparing for a mission is "What are we going to do with our house while we are gone?"  Rachel was very helpful.  She is more like the "throw away queen."  We got rid of lots of things from my house.  I honestly have to say that I hadn't used any of those things in "forever."  It was great having her help me decide what to keep and what not to keep.  All of a sudden life starts flashing before my eyes and I realize that they are just things and I don't really need this "stuff."  Thanks for the great day of digging and delving Rachel.

Okay. So the next thing on our list to do is get shots for the mission.  We were off to see the travel nurse at Virginia Mason.  She gave us lots of important information.  So why is it that I was the only one who got a shot?